Reiny Rundell, a student at Episcopal School of Dallas, studied potential SAT questions with math instructor Chuck Burdette. Test prep courses can last a few weeks or a few months, depending on a student's needs and his parents' means.

The options for college admissions test preparation can be much like a back-to-school shopping adventure.

Go for just the basics — a highlighter and a study booklet thick with practice exams and content review — and it’s possible to get by for about the cost of a pair of jeans.

But invest in months-long classes or hours of private tutoring, and you’re looking at a daylong shopping spree at Neiman Marcus.

The two more costly methods of test prep can run from a few hundred dollars for a handful of prep sessions to as much as $10,000 for one-on-one tutoring. But program websites claim the resulting triple-digit score increases could be worth even more in scholarship money and bragging rights for admission to elite colleges.

“We’ve been in this business for 30 years,” said Ed Carroll, executive director of high school programs at the Princeton Review. “There must be something to it.”

Agencies like the Princeton Review and Kaplan Test Prep push an approach of practice makes perfect, engaging pupils in practice tests designed to resemble real standardized tests. They also fine-tune the students’ test-taking strategies.

Another objective is to review the math, reading and writing content that will be on the exams. With a teacher on hand to explain tough concepts and hold students accountable, they are more likely to boost their scores than if they studied on their own, according to the agencies.

“It’s not a knowledge exam or a skills exam. It’s an endurance exam,” said Jeff Olson, vice president of research at Kaplan. “We want to get them to the point where the test day feels like one more practice test.”

Courses generally last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months and are flexible to preparation needs — a student may take classes targeting particular test sections or take one class for all sections at a flat rate.

Elissa Sommerfield, who founded a test prep agency in Dallas, said she promotes the humor and camaraderie of the classroom environment, allowing students to learn more effectively.

Private tutoring usually is charged by the hour, often at a rate of around $100, according to a check of several Dallas-area outlets. Parents should expect tutors to suggest 20 to 50 hours of tutoring, Carroll said.

Although tutoring is a more costly strategy that Carroll called “optional,” it could be the right approach for students who respond to an individualized approach. Johanna Obenda, a senior at Hebron High School, just began sessions with a math tutor to improve her SAT score.

“I’m not the kind of person who asks a lot of questions in a group, even if I need it,” Obenda said. “This is at my level.”

According to a study conducted by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, score improvements may be attributed less to the actual coaching and more to students’ increased familiarity with the test and exposure to practice exams designed to be tougher than the real ones.

Dr. Derek Briggs, chairman of the Research and Evaluation Methodology Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder who authored the study, says that coaching may yield an increase of only about 30 points on the SAT.

“On average, the effect tends to be relatively small,” Briggs said. “If your family is quite wealthy, $1,000 may be worth it. If $1,000 represents the difference between taking a family vacation and putting your child in a coaching program, it’s much less clear whether that’s a good investment.”

At least one former college recruiter noted that even a small score increase could be significant in gaining admission to a reputable college.

“The standardized test score is the easiest way to gauge a student’s academics,” said Walker Agnew Jr., who recruited for the University of Mississippi for two years. “[One point] can mean thousands of dollars. That could be the difference that could allow a Texas resident to attend college out-of-state.”

Agencies that administer the ACT and the SAT both discourage high-investment test preparation. The ACT provides free preparation material on its website, but Nancy Owen, an ACT spokeswoman, said the best strategy for preparation is simply paying close attention in class.

“The ACT measures what students have learned in high school,” Owen said. “As such, students don't need to take expensive test-prep courses to prepare.”

Claire Holder, a junior at Trinity Christian Academy, recently finished an SAT and ACT prep course. She’ll take the tests for the first time in the coming year.

Despite the potential gains, Carroll encouraged parents to weigh their options and look for ways to save: Focus on preparation for either the SAT or ACT, but not both. Area districts including Dallas, Plano, Irving and Lewisville offer free or low-cost test prep classes — sometimes during the regular school day — and online materials. In lieu of a course, Carroll said, test prep booklets can yield results for “specially motivated” students who are willing to prepare on their own time.

The student’s willingness to make the time commitment, said Trinity Christian Academy counselor Mia Mbroh, is the most important aspect of test preparation. Mbroh’s daughter, Hayden, increased her SAT score 50 points after taking a prep class, but Mbroh said the improvement wouldn’t have been possible if her daughter hadn’t been dedicated to the preparation.

“If it’s something that a parent is trying to force, it can backfire on you,” Mbroh said. “It’s a game of mental perseverance.”